Advancing the BIPOC Female Representation in STEM By Promoting Gender Equality and Breaking Biases

The representation of BIPOC female students in collegiate STEM programs and professional STEM careers is disproportionate to both BIPOC and non-BIPOC males in STEM. Through the years numerous initiatives have arisen to address the lack of racial and gender diversity within STEM, nonetheless, the STEM participation gap amongst BIPOC females persists. There are numerous factors that contribute to the collegiate and professional gender diversity gap in STEM such as biases and a lack of advocacy. Breaking the biases involves breaking down ethnic and traditional norms around girls in STEM as it relates to a woman or girls “place” in society. The lack of advocacy must be addressed by both men and women within and outside of STEM because we all benefit from new discoveries and advances made in STEM. Breaking the biases that surround the ethnic and traditional norms around females in STEM is crucial to promote gender equality and provide equal employment opportunities for girls and women in STEM fields. As a father of a daughter interested in pursuing multiple STEM disciplines in college and as a BIPOC STEM professional the statistics regarding gender diversity in STEM are alarming and the topic warrants more discussion to increase awareness and solution driven plans for addressing the lack of DEI within STEM. I am honored and privileged to discuss these topics more in-depth with Mrs. Chinwe Nkiru. Mrs. Nkiru is a proud Nigerian from West Africa and is the founder and executive director of Flourishing Life International Foundation. Mrs. Nkiru also serves as the President of the Ladies in Sustainable Community Development International Program and is the coordinator of the SHE4STEM project. The She is for STEM (SHE4STEM) project is an initiative of the Flourishing Life International Foundation and was created to promote the advancement of STEM education and careers in schools in Nigeria by identifying, inspiring, including, and building the innovative human capacities of girls towards the development and deployment of practical applications of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The vision for the SHE4STEM project is to develop and drive initiatives to close the STEM talent gaps in Nigeria by bringing girls and women to the forefront of STEM education and careers. The SHE4STEM project mission is to identify and develop targeted policies geared towards breaking existing socio-cultural barriers around STEM, with an accompanying deployment of advanced learning technologies to raise the next generation of the STEM workforce and to make STEM education and careers inclusive and attractive to girls and women in Africa. To learn more, donate to, or help Mrs. Nkiru’s in her efforts to increase BIPOC involvement in STEM please see below her contact information:Nkiru - Chinwe’s LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/nkiru-chinwe-onuko-6335b9191Email: [email protected] Number: +2348030953161Support the show